The benefits of detritus.

Paul B

Paul B

Well-Known Member
I know, stupid title but I didn't know what else to call it.
I just had to move a piece of coral in my tank and by doing so I had to stir up the gravel. (yes I have gravel) When I do that there is a slight dust or detritus storm which I know benefits the corals. As I was looking at the tank I noticed something that newer tanks may not experience. I forget about these things because I always see them and I figure they are normal but I figured I would post it anyway.
In my tank there are dozens of these small coiled up worms that have become part of the rockwork and can not be removed. (I think these are sponge worms, but don't quote me) I pay little attention to them and never see them do anything, but when I stir the gravel, the tank becomes encased in "spider webs" of sticky threads that are exuded from these tiny organisms. In 5 minutes, when the tank clears up and the storm dissapates all that is left is these 10" long strands that are slowly pulled into the animal where the meal is digested.
Normally the water is crystal clear and you can see nothing emerging from these worms.
These unassuming animals are one reason I am not a fan of a sterile tank.
Many animals that we really don't see or don't pay any attention to feed in this manner. If it were not for detritus, these worms and many corals, clams and microscope life would not exist. Some of these animals are at the bottom of the food chain and a healthy eco system depends on them.
I think most of us hobbiests are much more interested in the easier to see things like fish but I find the unusual parts of the hobby to be much more interesting.

IMG_1087.jpg
 
Jackalope

Jackalope

Member
two dif. types of systems in general. super clean = sps tank (not really a true eco-system really, but works much better for pure sps tanks. the second is the "dirty" version which in essence is more a true eco-system. so technically Bald Eagle1 is correct.

pending on your bioload, you can have too much detritus though. it can and will cause havoc and end up with old school term "Old Tank Syndrome". there is a balance YES def.! but takes constant configuring/guessing. this is an age-old debate that i have been banned on so wont go any further heheh.

oh yeah.. the peanut worm i think is the one with 2 antanae looking things that come out of it. if not its a spinoid both are beneficial and just indicate there is a food supply for them thus they multiply.
 
Last edited:
Paul B

Paul B

Well-Known Member
I never advocated trying to acumulate detritus in a reef aquarium but if your tank is old enough and healthy enough there will be boreing organisms that produce the stuff in copious amounts. If I were to blow water at my rock I would get a large amount of detritus emitting from the pores. This is inevidable as the microscope life in the tank produces it.
You will not see any detritus in my tank but if I move a rock or stir up the gravel as in that first picture, I will see it. Detritus is the end product of de composition and IMO will not harm anything but can and will benefit the amphipods, copepods and detritus feeding corals that predominate in my particular tank.
I am also not saying to keep a filthy tank, just the opposite. I add bacteria from the sea all the time in an effort to maintain an equilebrium of nutrients and I succeed by hardly having any nitrates and doing few water changes.
I also did not mean that you should actively cultivate vermitid worms, but their presence and the presence of other forms of life should not be considered a detriment to the tank but a sign of health.

I run a reverse UG filter in my tank and I can see through the bottom of the tank with a flashlight and there is a 1/8" layer of detritus under there, but the UG filter has not been disturbed in 10 or 15 years. I can see the worm trails through the detritus and some of them are fairly large bristle worms. Idon't know how old some of them are but they are great scavengers. There is also an assortment of tube worms, amphipods and brittle stars under there that facinate me. I can't crawl under there as easily as I could 10 years ago but I still occasionally get under there for a look. I know something is processing the detritus because there should be a whole lot more of it by now as I have no way to clean it out from there.
 
Last edited:
Jackalope

Jackalope

Member
thats awesome! i know of a guy running a Reverse UF, for 30+ years and the tank looks like a slice of the ocean, not a perfect photoshop'd pic. i give you kudos for that.
 
Paul B

Paul B

Well-Known Member
Thanks, this may be the only decent picture I have, I can't seem to get them clear like I used to with film camera's.
This is a couple of years old. I have added about 10 corals since then.
newcorals002.jpg
 
S

srusso

New Member
I have setup my algae scrubber only reef almost a year ago now and couldn't agree with you more PaulB. I have the same worms on my rocks. That among other life, I have never cleaned my sump and the life floating and crawling around is prolific. I have a video I recorded at 6 months of the life in my sump, since then I would say life has doubled easily. At night with a flash light it's like an alien world down there... Totally believe a natural reef is the way to go.
 
S

srusso

New Member
Though they were mysis... Whatever they are, they are really cool!!

I love watching them, at night they are much more active.

After watching the video a few times you can see the top left one grabs something and starts eating it. About 23 seconds into the video.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top